The next morning, a figure suddenly descended from the sky, landing on the rooftop of the Sohbu High School building.
A superhero landed with a thud, creating cracks in the ground that made the staff tear up.
Having returned to Chiba from Tokyo, Yukinoshita Yukino changed her clothes at home and, with Hayashizaki's help, managed to get back to her class just in time, before being late.
She still needed to attend school; being a sorcerer didn't mean she could neglect her studies. After all, Yukinoshita Yukino had filled out her graduation plans with a goal to pursue further education.
Speaking of which, Ijichi and Gojo had previously invited her to attend the Jujutsu High, but she wondered if there were any further education routes available there, like a Jujutsu University.
With her part-time sorcerer duties added to her life, Yukinoshita Yukino sometimes found herself zoning out in class, like during this Japanese class.
On the podium, Hiratsuka Shizuka naturally noticed Yukinoshita's gaze drifting from the blackboard, but since Yukinoshita consistently maintained top grades, a little daydreaming during class was no big deal.
Since Hayashizaki and Gojo Satoru had teamed up, Yukinoshita Yukino no longer needed to go out hunting cursed spirits herself; she just waited for requests from Jujutsu High. However, those requests didn't come every day.
The loyal Servitude Department welcomed its great leader.
When Hikigaya Hachiman saw Yukinoshita Yukino sitting quietly and reading at her desk in the club room, he immediately shot her a resentful look.
Thanks to Yukinoshita, he had experienced a high-speed flight through the air without any safety measures. However, it was much better than being bounced around by Hayashizaki; at least he didn't feel nauseous or dizzy when landing.
"Good afternoon,"
Hikigaya Hachiman greeted her and then, before Yuigahama Yui arrived, asked, "We don't have anything to do today, right?"
"The Jujutsu High doesn't have any requests for us at the moment,"
Yukinoshita Yukino replied.
"That's good."
Hikigaya Hachiman felt relieved. He had exhausted his cursed energy during yesterday's battle and collapsed into bed as soon as he got home, sleeping until the next day and even forgetting to do his homework.
As a result, he got scolded by Hiratsuka-sensei.
He took out the homework he needed to catch up on from his bag and leaned over the desk to start working on it.
The homework was about a career visit organized by the school two weeks later, and they had handed out a volunteer survey.
Filling out such forms was second nature for Hikigaya Hachiman. He removed the pen cap and began to quickly fill in the survey.
Desired Career: Full-Time Househusband.
Desired Workplace: Home.
Reasons:
As the saying goes, "If you work, you lose." Labor is a way to exchange risk for reward...
In less than ten minutes, Hikigaya Hachiman finished filling out the volunteer survey. Satisfied, he flicked the thin paper, convinced that the understanding and caring Hiratsuka-sensei would fully appreciate his aspirations for the future and approve his application.
Just then, the classroom door for the Service Club swung open, and Yuigahama Yui walked in, looking at her phone with a distressed expression. She didn't even greet them in her usual special way, which meant she must be dealing with some serious trouble.
However, the blond boy following her wasn't as well-received by the others in the room.
"Ugh, why is Hayama here too?"
Hikigaya Hachiman's face showed clear disgust. "Does someone like him even have problems that need help?"
"Um... I heard something,"
Hayama said, feeling a bit awkward as he walked in and heard such unkind words.
"Ah, I accidentally let that slip. Sorry."
Hikigaya Hachiman averted his gaze, apologizing without any real regret.
You're making this even more awkward for me...
Hayama's sunny smile was almost cracking under the pressure.
[Ugh, how did it come to this with Hayama?]
"Yuigahama, what's wrong?"
Yukinoshita Yukino completely ignored Hayama and asked Yuigahama Yui.
"Oh, it's this,"
Yuigahama Yui showed her phone to everyone. "We suddenly received some strange emails in class."
"'Tobe from Inage Ward is picking fights with Seikou students at the arcade; Yamato is a scummy guy with three girlfriends; Ooka brutally took down the ace of the opponent's school...'"
Yukinoshita Yukino read the contents of the email. "This is a chain letter."
"That's why I came here."
Hayama also took out his phone; he had received the same email. "Hiratsuka-sensei said to come here if we had any worries."
[Don't accept this request]
The little parasite in his head started shouting again, but for some reason, Yukinoshita Yukino didn't want to pay attention to it.
"Receiving such information has made the class atmosphere worse, and it makes me really angry to see people talking badly about friends."
Hayama frowned, but his expression soon relaxed. "But I'm not looking for the culprit; I just want to find a way to calm things down."
He put on a gentle smile and sincerely asked, "Can I ask for your help?"
[Listening to Hayama, even if he doesn't know who the culprit is, he should at least understand the cause of this issue. This guy clearly has other intentions; we should kick him out!]
Hearing Hayama's words, Yukinoshita Yukino pondered for a moment and then shot him a sharp look. "Let me ask you this: do you know who the culprit is?"
"Eh? Is this a joke?"
He was taken aback for a moment and then laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "If I knew who the culprit was, I wouldn't need to come here to ask for your help."
"Then you know what started this, right?"
Yukinoshita Yukino pressed on.
"Well..."
Hayama's face showed clear hesitation, but he ultimately shook his head, denying it. "No, I don't know."
"I see."
Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at him indifferently, taking in his expression. She then turned her head back to the book in her hands. "Well then, please leave, Hayama."
"Guests, this way please."
Hikigaya Hachiman quickly walked to the door and opened it, putting on a butler-like pose to escort the guests out.
"Eh? Why are you suddenly trying to kick me out?"
In just a few minutes, Hayama Hayato had already lost his cool twice.
"In a criminal case, someone who knows relevant information but hides it can basically be defined as an accomplice. You might even be considered the criminal."
Yukinoshita Yukino said coldly.
Meanwhile, Hikigaya Hachiman had quietly moved behind Hayama Hayato, placing a hand on his shoulder. He seemed to have transformed from a butler into an inspector's assistant, ready to apprehend the criminal Hayama at Yukinoshita Yukino's command.
After witnessing Yukinoshita Yukino's strength yesterday, Hikigaya Hachiman was determined to follow the great service club president as her loyal hound.
"I got it, I got it! I'll talk!"
Noticing the intense gaze from the dead fish-eyed Hachiman and the pressure on his shoulder, Hayama quickly raised his hands in a mock salute.
"Maybe it's about the workplace visit... I really only know about that!"
Seeing Yukinoshita Yukino looking at him critically, he hurried to explain.
"Ah, I understand now. It's about grouping," Yuigahama Yui suddenly realized.
"What? We have to group up!?"
To Hachiman's shock, he exclaimed, "I absolutely don't want my classmates coming to my house!"
"What did you even put on the volunteer form..."
"A stay-at-home husband."
"Are you an idiot?"
Teuchi interrupted their conversation, and Yukinoshita Yukino slowly spoke, "So, someone started this chain letter to slander others just to group with Hayama Hayato? The goal is to create a rift between them."
"The criminal could also be one of these three people," Hikigaya Hachiman added.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Hayama quickly stopped them from speculating further. "Why is this happening? They're all my friends, and I don't think they would do something like this."
"And they're all victims, so how could they be criminals?"
"Are you an idiot?"
Hikigaya Hachiman crossed his arms. "Pretending to be a victim is a common tactic for criminals."
"But if it were me, I'd deliberately leave someone out to make them the scapegoat."
The girl with orange hair and twin buns shot him a disdainful look and remarked, "Hikki, you're so dark."
"Call me a high-IQ criminal."
He smirked, looking quite pleased with himself.
"In that case, everyone in your class who's close to Hayama is a suspect now," Yukinoshita Yukino said, resting her chin on her hand with her eyes closed, seemingly deep in thought. In reality, her mind had drifted into Hayashizaki's realm.
"Parasite-kun, do you have any way to find the criminal?"
She looked at the black-haired boy at the altar.
"Interrogation."
Hayashizaki lay on the eaves of the shrine, pinching his nose as he spoke.
"Try another method."
Yukinoshita Yukino looked at him with disdain as he made an inappropriate gesture. "And please be mindful of your image."
Since Hayashizaki had a sudden idea and pulled her into his domain, Yukinoshita Yukino had finally seen his true appearance.
He claimed to be from a thousand years ago, but he looked surprisingly young, almost the same age as her.
With soft, tousled hair, a handsome face marked with mysterious black lines, and deep-set eyes that glowed with bright red pupils—like two polished red gemstones—he wore a white kimono that suited his well-proportioned figure perfectly.
The first time Yukinoshita Yukino saw Hayashizaki's face, she was stunned.
Such a handsome man was now carelessly picking his nose, which felt like a waste of good looks.
"Well, no one can see me anyway, so what does it matter?"
Hayashizaki flicked his fingers at Yukinoshita Yukino, making her nervously flinch to the side—though, in reality, there was nothing to worry about. After all, they were in a spiritual state, where neither eating nor excreting applied; there was no such thing as boogers.
He sat up cross-legged, resting his chin on his hand in boredom. "It's unlikely we can directly find the culprit. I'm a sorcerer, not a detective."
"But there's a not-so-terrible way."
Hayashizaki said, "Do you remember what I did the first time I taught you and that dead-fish-eyed kid how to activate and control cursed energy?"
"How could I forget? You chopped off his entire right hand."
Recalling that scene, Yukinoshita Yukino still thought Hayashizaki's teaching method was quite unreasonable.
"That was just a means. What was the goal?" Hayashizaki asked.
"To trigger our negative emotions, making it easier to sense cursed energy…"
Yukinoshita Yukino spoke more slowly, as if about to grasp that sudden insight, only for it to slip away again.
"You're so slow."
Hayashizaki pointed at her.
The girl's forehead immediately twitched, but since she needed his help, she had to swallow her pride. "Please tell me."
"The key is negative emotions," Hayashizaki explained. "Even ordinary humans have very faint cursed energy. If their mood fluctuates greatly, it shouldn't be hard to notice."
"As long as you use coercive interrogation…"
"In other words, directly confront the three suspects, isolating them for a showdown. By observing their emotional responses, you can skip the reasoning process and get straight to the result."
Yukinoshita Yukino understood, "If the culprit is one of them, they'll definitely feel anxious when suspected, leading to significant emotional fluctuations."
"Exactly. If someone slips up, then it's time for coercive interrogation…"
"I get it. Thank you for your help this time."
After receiving the wisdom she sought from Hayashizaki, Yukinoshita Yukino hurriedly left the [Demon-Slaying Chef], her consciousness returning to reality.
"So, about coercive interrogation…"
Everyone watched as Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly closed her eyes. Hayama and Yuigahama Yui thought she was deep in thought, but Hikigaya Hachiman knew she was seeking help from the true master of the Service Club, Hayashizaki.
Even if Yukinoshita suddenly started making deductions with her eyes closed like a sleeping detective, he wouldn't be surprised.
Sure enough, after a moment, Yukinoshita Yukino opened her eyes and said,
"I already know how to find the culprit."
"Eh? That was fast!"
The girl with the dumpling hairstyle said admiringly, "as expected like Yukinon!"
"So, what's the plan?"
Hayama asked.
"After school, call the three idiot one by one to see me."
Yukinoshita Yukino smiled confidently.
"The results will become clear after that."
…
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